Diabetes patients face greater risk of cerebrovascular damage from ultrafine-particle exposure

People with diabetes may suffer more pronounced damage to the brain’s small blood vessels when exposed to ultrafine particles, according to research from South Korea’s National Institute of Health.

Researchers analyzed human brain microvascular endothelial cells, blood-vessel endothelial cells obtained from diabetes patients, animal models exposed to ultrafine particles, and postmortem brain tissue from patients with vascular dementia.

The study found that ultrafine-particle exposure and diabetes each increased BACE1, a protein that promotes production of beta-amyloid, a substance associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Levels of GDF15, a protein involved in stress responses, also rose. At the same time, the blood-brain barrier, which blocks harmful substances in the bloodstream from entering brain tissue, showed reduced function.

The effects were more pronounced when endothelial cells from diabetes patients received additional ultrafine-particle exposure. Even low concentrations reduced proteins that help maintain the vascular barrier and increased factors associated with blood-vessel degeneration.

The researchers said people with diabetes often already have impaired vascular function, which may leave them more vulnerable to environmental factors such as ultrafine particles. Kim Won-ho, head of the institute’s division for chronic disease convergence research, urged people with diabetes and hypertension to monitor air quality and adjust outdoor activities. The study appeared in Free Radical Biology and Medicine.

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People with underlying conditions such as diabetes and hypertension need health management that considers environmental factors, including checking air-quality information and adjusting outdoor activities.